Headache caused by the use of personal protective equipment in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic period

Kübra Mehel Metin; Cemile Sencer Semercioğlu; Çiğdem Ataman Hatipoğlu; Hüseyin Esmer; Hatice Kayretli; Levent Ertuğrul İnan; Sami Kınıklı; Tahir Kurtuluş Yoldaş

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14493

Headache caused by the use of personal protective equipment in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic period

Heliyon. 2023 Mar 13;9(3):e14493. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14493. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Kübra Mehel Metin¹, Cemile Sencer Semercioğlu¹, Çiğdem Ataman Hatipoğlu², Hüseyin Esmer², Hatice Kayretli², Levent Ertuğrul İnan¹, Sami Kınıklı², Tahir Kurtuluş Yoldaş¹

Affiliations

¹ Ministry of Health Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Neurology Clinic, Ankara, Turkey.
² Ministry of Health Ankara Training and Research Hospital, İnfectious Diseases Clinic, Ankara, Turkey.

Abstract

Objective: Coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19), the cause of the ongoing pandemic, is an acute respiratory tract infection, which has made it necessary for healthcare personnel to use protective equipment such as N95 masks, protective goggles and visors. External compression headaches caused by the compression of the pericranial soft tissues by wearing hats, helmets, or goggles (worn during swimming or diving) have been previously described. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the presence and characteristics of personal protective equipment-associated headaches in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic period and to determine the effects of such headaches.

Materials and methods: A face-to-face questionnaire was delivered to 300 male and female healthcare personnel between the ages of 18-56 working in healthcare units where COVID-19 patients were evaluated and treated. The data from 296 completed questionnaires was evaluated.

Results: We included 296 participants (166 females and 130 males) in our study; the mean age was 33.98 ± 8.52 years (range 18-56). One hundred ninety-six (66.22%) participants indicated that they had new onset personal protective equipment-associated headaches. Percentages of those with newly emergent headaches because of protective equipment were higher in the following participant groups: females (p = 0.045), those with COVID-19 disease history (p < 0.001), and those diagnosed with headaches before the pandemic (p = 0.001).

Conclusion: Our study showed the presence of new-onset headaches associated with personal protective equipment in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personal protective equipment-related headaches were associated with the following factors: female sex, a history of COVID-19 disease, and the presence of primary headaches diagnosed before the pandemic.

Keywords: External compression headache; Headache; Personal protective equipment.